Death

When I see the Death card, I carry an awareness that I will be transformed. My reality will shift, and I will never be quite like I was before. Similar to when a bird hatches—literally fighting its way out of the shell—once the egg is cracked open, the chick has to leave and begin the next chapter of the journey. It is what it is. And it is real and irreversible. 

The Death card reminds me to make room for grief, make room for love, make room for anger, make room for fear—make room to be alive with all the messiness it entails. That kind of breaking open—the foundation shifting, moving tectonic plates finally birthing their earthquake—We can’t plan around or dodge it or hide it. 

For me, it is the hallway between what I was and who I will be. Learning how to transition is key. Breathe. Cry. Drink water. Dance. Write. Sing. Hum. Sleep. Rest. Do not dismiss your pain. Crawl forward in your own time.

Allow yourself grace as you learn to move in this new existence. Knowing things you can’t unknow about yourself, about others, about the world; seeing things you can’t unsee; saying goodbye to an idea or person or relationship or view of yourself that no longer aligns with the truth of what you are— These are deeply painful. They are worth our grief. 

If we allow ourselves to let go of what must be let go, we make room for new beginnings.

The Sun is coming, but first, we must release.

ID: Cristy Road’s Next World Tarot deck, the Death card is illustrated with a person on a horse, looking directly at the viewer, holding a tattered parasol in their left hand. In the foreground are two large skulls with a rat like creature standing on two legs over them; two additional skulls are behind the horse; in the background there appears to be water and the city.